Corey Dickstein/Savannah Morning News Family members of fallen 3rd Infantry Division soldier Pfc. Barrett Austin react as he is remembered by division leadership during a ceremony Thursday morning to dedicate an Eastern redbud tree in his honor. Pictured are the soldier's sister Jordan Austin and their parents Yolanda and Curt Austin.

Corey Dickstein/Savannah Morning News Heather Autsin, left, and her mother Tina Wood listen during a ceremony Thursday morning to honor Autin's late husband Army Pfc. Barrett Austin, a soldier with the 3rd Infantry Division's 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team who died of wounds sustained in improvised explosive device attack in April in Afghanistan.

Corey Dickstein/Savannah Morning News Yolanda and Curt Austin hold hands as they listen during a ceremony to dedicate a tree at Warriors Walk on Fort Stewart to their fallen son, Army Pfc. Barrett Austin, who died in April after his unit was attacked during a deployment to Afghanistan.

Clutching hands, Yolanda and Curt Austin struggled through a verse of “America the Beautiful” as they peered out over the Eastern redbud sapling recently planted in honor of their fallen son.

Wiping away tears in between brief smiles, the couple listened as soldiers shared their memories of Pfc. Barrett Austin during a ceremony Thursday morning to dedicate the young tree to his memory at Fort Stewart’s Warriors Walk.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to be here and be part of this ceremony today,” Curt Austin said, standing amidst the now 548 Eastern redbuds that each stand as a living memorial to a 3rd Infantry Division soldier killed while deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003. “It means a lot to us to see the support that our son’s unit has given us and the honor that they are showing him.”

Austin, a 20-year-old who after graduating high school in Easley, S.C., in 2011 enlisted in the Army, was operating in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, when the vehicle he was in was attacked by an improvised explosive device on April 17. He died four days later at an Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

Those who served with Austin remembered him both as easy going and hard working, said Staff Sgt. Brendan Fossum, Austin’s squad leader who was severely injured in the same IED blast.

“When I think about him now he was always a very worry-free guy,” said Fossum, who traveled from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to attend Thursday’s ceremony. “He never let anything get him down and he was always striving for more, and that was a great thing about him. We had our heads butt sometimes, but he always did great getting over it and pushing through everything.”

During his remarks prepared for the ceremony, Brig. Gen. John Hort, the 3rd Infantry Division’s deputy commanding general-rear, spoke of the private 1st class’s spirit and commitment to the career of soldiering.

Austin loved working on cars and trucks and worked as a mechanic before entering the Army, the general said. He also enjoyed a tough workout.

“He was known to push himself, and doing so in the gym one time he reached muscle failure with his arms and chest stuck under the bar,” Hort said. “Many of his teammates still remember this, and because of it they will always do an extra rep during each workout in his honor.”

Stories like that, said Curt Austin, serve as a reminder of the impact their son made on those around him in his short life.

“It helps us to realize that he counted for something, and as a parent, that’s what you want for your kids,” Curt Austin said. “As a parent, when other people demonstrate love for your kids, there ain’t nothing that can top that.”

HONORED THURSDAY

Pfc. Barrett L. Austin, 20, of Easley, S.C., died April 21 in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained when his vehicle was attacked by an enemy improvised explosive device in Wardak Province, Afghanistan on April 17. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart.